Bloomberg reported a drop in orders for products from German factories

At the beginning of 2024, the volume of orders for products from German factories fell sharply after an increase in December, reported Bloomberg. The German economy, Europe’s largest, continues to struggle to overcome the recent downturn, the agency said.

In January of this year, demand in the German economy fell by 11.3% compared to the previous month, with a forecast of 6%. The three-month figure, which is less volatile, shows an increase of 2.3%. The decline was due to a sharp drop in the volume of large orders, which returned to normal levels after a rise in December.

Overall, in 2023, Germany became the only G7 country to experience a decline in GDP. Last year, amid weak global demand, high inflation, the loss of cheap Russian energy and limited budget spending, GDP fell by 0.3%. Separately, Germany last month cut its GDP growth forecast for this year to 0.2%, after the previous forecast called for growth of 1.3%.

As reported Reutersthe economy of the European Union barely avoided a technical recession in the last three months of 2023 – the decline in German GDP was offset by strong GDP growth in Portugal and Spain, and the strengthening of this indicator in Italy.

Read more about the economic situation in Germany in the Kommersant publication. “One-tenth of a recession”.

Anastasia Larina